Magical Seduction is an anthology involving novellas from Cathryn Fox, Mandy Roth, and Anya Bast. Published by Ellora’s Cave, it’s a given that it’s going to be a romance with a little eroticism thrown in. At least that’s the impression I continuously received whenever I hear anyone talk about the Ellora’s Cave group.
Web of Desire by Cathryn Fox
From the publisher: Good witch Ally gets naughty when she discovers her long-lost high school sweetheart caught — literally — in a web of lust and seduction.
The story wasn’t bad, but there wasn’t much to it either. At only 50 pages, there really wasn’t that much plot development and we’re only given a slice of each characters personality. I know this is a novella and they are suppose to be quick and easy, but I almost felt like this story would have been much better as a full length novel than as a short story. The whole premise has great potential for a great romance (and a lot of sex) and some interesting fights with the good witch vs bad witch having such a close history. While I did like the novel, there was a bit too much sexual fetishes going on that I went through it really fast. I don’t have a problem reading the sex scenes, but they can become a little…dull if they are drawn out to far.
Solo Tu by Mandy Roth
From the publisher: When Francy shows up after five years of separation to tell her beloved Dante, a werewolf, that she’s engaged to a vampire, he seduces her with a steamy surprise of his own.
Again, I really enjoyed the premise, but if it was drawn out into a full length novel, it would have been a lot more interesting. The relationship between Francy and Dante was too perfect; I really didn’t feel like they had to fight to be with each other. It was fate and they accepted it to easily in my opinion. Especially considering Francy shows up to say she’s marrying someone else and then she just jumps into bed with Dante without a second thought. It’s too easy, too clean. Even though I said Web of Desire could be a full length novel, it was still okay as a short. Solo Tu would have been a lot better as a full length novel. The short was to cookie cutter. There were no fights, no arguments, nothing antagonistic about it. Even when Francy’s vampire shows up, it’s all talk. Where’s the excitement? What really clinched the novel idea in my head was the history the vampire had with Dante. I would have loved to read this novel, if it had existed. The story is still good, but I think a lot of people might come away from it a little unsettled since there really isn’t any action in it.
Tempted by Two by Anya Bast
From the publisher: Not only did Miranda just learn that she’s a half-blood fae, but she’s also got two — two! — deliciously muscular mates. She’d better adjust to all the sexy attention before a vengeful goblin tries to get in on the threesome….
This story so made the book worth it for me. Where the first two didn’t have that much of a plot going on, Tempted by Two made up for it in spades. We have a courtship between two bonded males going after their third member; and even though they felt it the first moment they saw her, they don’t take a relationship with her as a given. We also have a psychotic goblin who wants his wife back, but she’s in Miranda’s woman’s shelter and Miranda is not letting him anywhere near her. Plus there’s is some exceptional character development with our heroine Miranda. This novella was easily twice as long as the first two stories combined and the extra pages made the story. I didn’t feel like there was more to be explored between Miranda, Theo, and Marco, that I was missing something great. If there are novels set in their world, I wouldn’t hesitate to go out and buy them. I’m already a fan of Anya Bast, but this just cemented her in my mind as a must have author for my own personal library.
Overall, Magical Seduction was good and it gave me a good idea what to expect from each of these writers. I’m already familiar with Anya Bast’s Elemental Witch series, so it was fun reading something different from her. While I can’t say the Fox and Roth stories impressed me too much, they did intrigue me enough to go out and find one of their books and add it to my TBR list. If anyone has any suggestions from these two authors, I’m all ears. If you’re looking for something short, sweet, and a definite turn off, then this is a good place to look.
